Key to the appeal of the C30 Design Concept is its styling. "Our aim was to give the C30 Design Concept a hefty dose of muscles in a sporty and compact package," says Steve Mattin, Design Director for Volvo Cars. Volvo has certainly succeeded: the striking, dynamic aesthetics of the C30 should open the Volvo brand to a new generation of buyers. "We know there are large numbers of fairly young, successful people who are attracted by our brand, but who still cannot find a model in our range that exactly matches their taste and lifestyle," says Fredrik Arp, President and CEO of Volvo Cars. "The Volvo C30 Design Concept was developed precisely for this group."

The C30 Design Concept is a full four-seater, with a rear individual pair of seats that are set slightly to the centre. This gives passengers in the rear a sense that the cabin is spacious, while affording good visibility to the front. The space between the seats showcases Volvo's super-thin, visually floating centre stack.

However, the C30 Design Concept's intended customer category mostly uses the front seats only, so the rear seats can easily be folded flat to enlarge the load capacity. The luggage space behind the seats is intended for everyday loads, but can swallow far larger loads with the rear seats folded.

And regardless of how many occupants are on board, they can enjoy a world-class audio system. The C30 Design Concept is equipped with Volvo's Premium Sound System, with 5x130W digital ICE Power Amplifier from Alpine®, Dolby® Pro Logic II Surround and 10 Dynaudio® loudspeakers.